Then we who are alive andremain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words. 1 Thessalonians 4.17, 18

Life Together
Dietrich Bonhoeffer (1906-1945)
“So between the death of Christ and the Last Day it is only by a gracious anticipation of the last things that Christians are privileged to live in visible fellowship with other Christians. It is by the grace of God that a congregation is permitted to gather visibly in this world to share God’s Word and sacrament. Not all Christians receive this blessing.”

Next time you’re gathered with other believers for worship, look around: these are the people with whom you will spend eternity. So also are those who gather each Lord’s Day from every nation, tribe, and tongue, not to mention denomination – and not to mention the other believers gathered in churches throughout your community. These are our people, and God calls us to anticipate the day when all our differences will be as nothing and we will be united with Him always and forever – totally focused together on Him, and arm-in-arm with our brethren in Christ. One way to do this is by adding time in your daily prayers to meditate on the return of the Lord Jesus and the coming of the new heavens and new earth. Your excitement about His return will grow as you do this, and you’ll be better equipped to encourage other believers to live in “gracious anticipation of the last things” and of the soon coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Here’s a conversation you can have with believers from all over your community, as often as you can.

How might you use a part of the worship service of your church to point ahead to the eternal unity of the Body of Christ in the new heavens and new earth?

T. M. Moore

Mission Partners Outreach
Pastor, what if you could train two or three men to identify and begin working their Personal Mission Field, and then they, in turn, could train two or three men in your church – continuously? And what if you could do this with proven training materials, and for free? This is what our Mission Partners Outreach is all about. Watch the brief video introducing this effort (click here), then download the brochure, find a man or two, and get started equipping the men of your church for mission.

Praying for Revival
During the third week of each month, pastors and lay leaders join as men together in the Lord to seek Him for revival. If you would like to join one of our online Revival Prayer Groups, send me an email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and we’ll make it happen for you.

We rejoice in the goodness of our heavenly Father, Who provides the support our ministry requires through the generous and faithful gifts of those who benefit from and believe in our work. Does the Lord want to use you in this way? Please look to Him in prayer over this question. You can contribute to The Fellowship of Ailbe by using the Contribute button at our website, or by sending your gift to The Fellowship of Ailbe, 19 Tyler Drive, Essex Junction, VT 05452. Thank you.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.